Expert: Lost Jobs At Toys R Us Will Be Gained Elsewhere
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Toys R Us has announced it will be closing all of its stores in the United States, which will leave 33,000 employees without a job.
Dr. Antony Davies, an economics professor at Duquesne University says the lost jobs are a wound, but not a fatal one.
"It is something economists call creative destruction. That is, we lose some jobs in one place, but we gain others somewhere else," he said.
The iconic Toys R Us retail chain has sold toys and games to millions of children for generations. After filing for bankruptcy in September and suffering through a brutal holiday shopping season, the company made the decision to close or selling all of its remaining stores.
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The business opened back in 1948 as a small store in Washington, D.C. and eventually grew to 2,000 stores. However, times have changed and so have the customers.
"In the great scheme of things, this isn't surprising because what we have is the first generation that has grown up with the internet. They're old enough, they're starting to have babies, and they're looking for toys and what do they do naturally? They go to the internet," Dr. Davies said.
Davies said the United States' economy adds about 200,000 jobs each month. At that rate, it will take about four days to create the more than 30,000 jobs that are being lost.
"Think about the young parents who are buying toys for the kids. Where are they buying them? They are buying them from eBay, from Amazon, so at the same time we are losing jobs at Toys R Us we are gaining jobs there."
The company is also selling its Babies R Us stores across the country.
Liquidation will take place over the next few months as the shelves are cleared in more than 700 stores.
